Alumni Awards 2021

Get to know this year’s outstanding alumni

Every day, Foresters around the world are doing amazing things. As they go about their daily lives wherever God has called them, they are making an impact that is often fartherreaching than they realize. We love hearing their stories because they never cease to encourage and inspire us.

While there are many ways for us to hear about alumni, the nomination process for our alumni awards is one we look forward to every year, and the nominations we received for this year’s alumni awards certainly did not disappoint. We were pleased to present four awards among three categories in 2021.

The Distinguished Alumni Citation is designed to recognize exceptional service or achievement over a longer period of time — a premise similar to a lifetime achievement award. This year’s recipient was Paul Hirschy.

Our Alumnus of the Year award is designed to recognize an alumnus’ outstanding achievement or recognition. This year’s recipient was Brandon Schall.

The Young Alumnus of the Year award is designed to recognize alumni who are 30 years old or younger and have made a significant impact on the world since graduation. This year, we honored two deserving alumni: Zachary Keller and Kayla Lane.

The four honorees received their awards during the Davis Hall: Larger Than Life event on October 1 as part of Homecoming Weekend.

Rev. Hirschy has spent his life serving others. At Huntington College, he was on the student senate for four years and was student body president. He went on to spend 27 years in leadership roles with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. After serving at Bluffton United Brethren Church, he became the manager of the United Brethren Publishing House in Huntington and managed the denomination’s bookstore.

“He would take a mini-bookstore to every annual conference,” said Ray Seilhamer, who first met Hirschy at Huntington College and later worked closely with him in the UB denomination. “This was hard work. He would take quality Christian books, Sunday School curriculum, music, certificates and other church forms for pastors and lay people to purchase.”

When Hirschy became National Director of Ministry for the UB denomination, Hirschy and Seilhamer, who was bishop at the time, attended over 100 conferences together.

“He was faithful to his ministry descriptions,” Seilhamer remarked. “He loved the church.”

Hirschy served as bishop of the UB denomination for one term from 2001-2005. As bishop, he was instrumental in adopting an international structure in 2001 and revising the U.S. National Conference structure in 2005.

“[Paul has] always showed a servant spirit, willing to do whatever was asked of him, and doing it to the best of his ability,” said Steve Dennie, UB director of communications and Hirschy’s coworker from 1978-2005.

Hirschy has remained connected to the University through avenues such as the Alumni Board and the Office of Advancement. Whether he is providing books to pastors or meeting with fellow HU alumni, Hirschy’s exceptional service has shaped the UB denomination and the Forester Family in incredible ways.

Brandon Schall (2003)

Alumnus of the Year

Schall is the senior vice president of client services at American Specialty, where he has worked since 2008 and held a variety of leadership roles. To those who know him, however, it is clear that his impact has gone far beyond his job title.

“If you asked me the names of people Brandon has impacted, the list would be too long to print,” said friend and coworker Spencer Batt. “He looks at his neighbors, coworkers, fellow parents at his children’s school, business clients and anyone else he meets as a person he can love and have a godly impact upon.”

Zachary Keller (2012) Young Alumnus of the Year

Keller currently serves as a math teacher in Jay County High School in Portland, Indiana, but as fellow alum Grace Kaufman pointed out, “math teacher” doesn’t quite sum it all up.

“Zach is, in short, serving in the mission field of teaching high school math,” said Kaufman. “It is truly so much more than teaching math to teenagers. Zach is serving as a leader … His work qualifies as thankless and selfless in so many ways.”

Kayla Lane (2015) Young Alumnus of the Year

Lane launched Studio852 to tell the stories that inspire her and to tell stories that matter. While pursuing those stories, she found a place on the teams of award-winning films and shows like The Irishman and The Mandalorian. Though her resume is filled with impressive accolades, those who nominated her cite her passion for her faith, friends, family and Foresters as the reason for the nomination.

“[Kayla] has a deep love for Huntington University and understands how the faculty and staff influenced her to be her best,” said Marcy Hawkins, director of the Forester Fund at HU. “She is not afraid to share with others about her faith and values.”